Transgender Man Beaten In Memphis

A Memphis transgender man was taken to a nearby hospital with bruises and a concussion after being beaten Saturday night.

BY Josh Hinkle

April 28 2012 12:45 PM ET

A suspect in Memphis, Tenn., faces aggravated assault charges after sending a transgender man to Methodist Germantown hospital with bruises and a concussion.

Eighteen-year-old Chase Mason Kelley attacked the man Saturday night, punching him repeatedly until the victim was unconscious reported WREG. The police report says the brother of the perpetrator also tried to hit the victim with his Jeep, but failed.

The victim is expected to make a full recovery WREG reports. Kelley, however, could face more charges. "If a hate bias based on gender identity can be proven, the attacker may be subject to stronger penalties under the Matthew Shepard, James Byrd hate crimes law that passed in 2009," Jonathan Cole of the Tennessee Equality Project told WREG.

UPDATE: To clarify, the news report on the victim's gender by WREG seems to be inaccurate. Our information on the assault victim's gender was obtained by a screenshot of the police report, featured in the video. We apologize for any confusion.